Mediagazer: Tucker Carlson's exit, like Glenn Beck's and Bill O'Reilly's, shows that no one is irreplaceable since Fox News itself, which convenes the audience, is the star (Jack Shafer/Politico)

6:45 PM ET, April 25, 2023

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Jack Shafer / Politico:

Tucker Carlson's exit, like Glenn Beck's and Bill O'Reilly's, shows that no one is irreplaceable since Fox News itself, which convenes the audience, is the star — No one is irreplaceable at the network. It was designed that way. — If you're wondering did Tucker Carlson jump …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo, @erikwemple, The Week, CNN, The Atlantic, Associated Press, @neilchenoweth, SPLICETODAY.com, @eugene_scott, @glcarlstrom, Poynter, @michaelkruse and Insider

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon were products of the Trump era with their indignation and outrage; their ousters represent a temporary pullback from media excesses — The two hosts took very different approaches, but the decisions by Fox News and CNN to shed the stars marks at least a temporary shift …

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, Mashable, @msignorile, The Hill, CNN, @jeffjarvis, @oliverdarcy, @sherylnyt and New York Post

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Fox News says the network and Tucker Carlson “have agreed to part ways”, and that Carlson's last program was on Friday, April 21

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Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
Sources: the decision to fire Tucker Carlson came straight from Rupert Murdoch and is related to former Carlson producer Abby Grossberg's discrimination lawsuit

Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
Source: Tucker Carlson's Fox News exit was “a firing” and he's “totally surprised”; sources: the newsroom is in “shock” and found out when the news broke online

Discussion: @phil_lewis_, Semafor, @jimrosicafl, The Wrap, @chrislhayes, @ishaantharoor, @annmlipton, @hillibusterr, @nickreeves9876, @francis_scarr, @mjfree, @thor_benson, Newser, Insider, Mediaite, Forbes, @nycsouthpaw, @tedlieu and @semafor

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
Source: Tucker Carlson was in the midst of negotiating the renewal of his Fox News contract through 2029 and told people last week he expected it to be renewed

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, The Hollywood Reporter, The Week, Mediaite, The Hill, Columbia Journalism Review, The Wrap, @palmerreport, The Daily Beast, @brianstelter, @oliverdarcy, @davidjollyfl, @repmtg, @calltoactivism, @brianstelter and @Npars01@mstdn.social

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube's advertising revenue declined for the third consecutive quarter, by 2.6% YoY to $6.69B in Q1 2023, slightly beating analyst estimates of $6.6B — Ad sales at YouTube declined 2.6% year over year in the first quarter of 2023, to $6.69 billion. Analysts expected it to come in at $6.6 billion, per FactSet.

Discussion: Alphabet Inc., The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, TechCrunch and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Lindsay Isaac / CNN:

Court documents: Prince Harry's legal team alleges that Prince William secretly settled phone hacking claims with News Group Newspapers for a “very large sum” — Buckingham Palace and Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers reached a secret agreement over historical phone hacking claims …

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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Prince Harry's lawyers say the royal family had a “secret agreement” not to pursue claims against News Group Newspapers until the phone hacking lawsuit was done — Prince Harry is newly pursuing News Group Newspapers over claims of unlawful information gathering.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Financial Times, Robb Report, Hacked Off, @independent, Reuters, @janinegibson, Semafor, The Guardian, @msmwatchdog2013 and Deadline

Alex Thompson / Axios:

After President Biden's reelection campaign announcement, the Republican National Committee posts an attack ad featuring AI-generated images, including of Biden — - The video features AI-created images appearing to show Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris celebrating at an Election Day party …

Discussion: MediaPost, The Hill, The Verge, Gizmodo, Ars Technica, Mother Jones, @yoda, Forbes, Engadget, New York Post and Semafor, more at Techmeme »

Desiree Ibekwe / New York Times:

Crooked Media plans to launch Pod Save the UK, its first podcast based outside the US, on May 4, hosted by Coco Khan, a journalist, and Nish Kumar, a comedian — The company behind “Pod Save America” is starting a British version of the popular liberal show. — Reporting from London

Discussion: @bartleby_era, @lukeisamazing, @metricalfoot, @imbadatlife, @francesweetman and @reducedlisten

Tim Mak / The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak:

Tim Mak, who covered Ukraine for NPR, launches The Counteroffensive, a newsletter to report on the war in the country, after leaving NPR as part of its layoffs — Introducing ‘The Counteroffensive,’ a reporter's open notebook from Ukraine — Good morning to readers. Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands.

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Lee Haye-ah / Yonhap News Agency:

Netflix plans to invest $2.5B to produce South Korean TV series, movies, and scripted shows through 2027, double the company's investment in South Korea to date — Netflix said Monday it will invest US$2.5 billion in South Korea over the next four years to produce Korean TV series, movies and scripted shows.

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Chloe Xiang / VICE:

A look at AI Hub, a Discord community dedicated to AI music that released an entire album featuring original songs using AI-generated vocals from famous artists — On Saturday, they released an entire album using an AI-generated copy of Travis Scott's voice, and labels are trying to kill it.

Discussion: The Wrap, The Verge, @dadabots and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »

Martine Paris / Forbes:
Pop star Grimes tells fans to create AI-generated music using her voice, saying she will split 50% royalties, the same deal as “with any artist I collab with”

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Wall Street Journal:

Overwhelmed by streaming services and their content, some US viewers are turning to Pluto TV, Tubi, and other free offerings that show classic TV shows with ads — Free streaming services Pluto TV, Tubi, Xumo Play and others show classic TV shows with ads, easing decisions for those overwhelmed with options

Discussion: @bysarahkrouse, @jasoncolavito, @jtoonkel, @tednesi, @mulvihill79 and @mattzeitlin

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

An interview with Danny Groom, the editor of Mail Online in the UK, on expanding royal coverage to royal families around the world, including Monaco and Morocco — Mail Online boss Danny Groom said the royal growth has “huge editorial and commercial possibilities”.

Discussion: @pressgazette and @hayley_barlow